Camp Mystic staff member recounts night of catastrophic flooding

KERR COUNTY, Texas — Lufkin resident Lilly Langston witnessed the destruction the Kerr County flooding had on Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls, up close.

This summer, Langston served as the activities director for Camp Mystic Cypress Lake. The Cypress Lake campus sits on higher ground compared to the Guadalupe side.

Campers from the Guadalupe campus fled to Cypress Lake seeking shelter.

“They were soaking wet,” Langston said. “Most of them had floated and swam out of their cabins to higher ground. They came over still in their pajamas, some of them clutching stuffed animals, some of them barefoot. Freezing. Starving.”

Langston said counselors’ top priority was to get the girls fed and into warm clothes.

All throughout the night, campers fought to stay alive.

“We had babies that were climbing up to the hillsides to different places,” Langston said. “We had girls floating on mattresses just trying to get to safety.”

As a result of the flood, Camp Mystic is mourning the loss of both staff and campers.

“When we get campers, they become our babies,” Langston said. “You’ll see counselors on closing day sobbing, because for a month, however long those kids are staying those are our kids.” 

Langston’s ties to Camp Mystic run deep. This was her 11th year at the camp, and eight of those years were spent on the Guadalupe campus. 

“Know that that place has changed the lives of so many women throughout the years, including my life,” she said. 

With the camp’s future unknown at this point, Langston is hopeful it will one day change the lives of more young women in Texas.

“They started this camp in the middle of the Great Depression,” she said. “If there’s any place that can bounce back from this, it’s Camp Mystic. We’re just working on getting through what we can get through and praying for the best for everyone.”